|
Deer can cause considerable damage to farm and timber crops, especially if their numbers exceed the available food supply in their woodland or hill habitat.
To reduce such damage and to ensure that the population remains balanced and healthy, deer stalkers use rifles to cull individual animals. Those likely to be removed are the old and weak deer as well as some younger females to reduce the number of offspring produced that year.
Young males sometimes cause damage to forestry by fraying trees to mark their territories and their numbers may need to be reduced. A stalker must know his ground and the habits of the deer intimately. A prime consideration is to ensure that there is nothing that will deflect a bullet between him and his target and that there is a safe backstop to any shot he takes.
Deer shot for 'trophies' - the antlers kept as a souvenir - are carefully selected in accordance with a herd management plan. They represent a very small percentage of the animals culled each year but provide valuable revenue for the estate and for the benefit of maintaining the herd as a whole.
There are six species of deer found wild in Britain. They have different close seasons depending on sex and species. Click here to view the shooting seasons.
Click here to view the BASC deer stalking code of practice
Click here to visit the Deer department pages
Click here to find out more about the BASC Deer Management Schemes |
